FAO Director-General meets with Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Graziano da Silva met in Berlin on Friday, 20 January, to discuss global food security issues, FAO’s work and how to strengthen cooperation.

During their meeting the two agreed that ensuring global food security is one of the biggest challenges facing the international community today, in particular given climate change.

Merkel told Graziano da Silva that Germany supports FAO in its efforts to efficiently fight hunger and rural poverty and in its reform process, including greater decentralization aimed at better tailoring the Organization’s work to the needs of specific regions.

Looking ahead to the upcoming Rio+20 conference, Graziano da Silva and Merkel also discussed the importance of ensuring sustainable food production and consumption.

Graziano da Silva was in Berlin to participate in International Green Week 2012, where he opened this year’s session of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture.